Daddy couldn’t remember every going to his
Grandmother Walton’s (Almeda) without a dried apple cake being made for them to
eat. James Monroe and Almeda built a home during the 1890’s in Rocky Hollow.
The house was built of chestnut wood. Booker could remember being just old
enough to help build the house (born 1895), but his brother Wayne (born 1897)
was too young. I have pictures of the house from a time we went with Howard
Davis to find William James Walton’s grave, and ended up at the old house that
was in very poor shape. Although we couldn’t really tell about the house, Daddy
remembers there were two large open rooms with an attic. There was a living
room, kitchen, and two bedrooms. I remember it was really small when we visited
it. There was a porch on the top floor. They used to have reunions there where
Booker would join in singing. People would gather on top porch and some on bottom
and singing could be heard for miles. Garden was off to the left. The house sat
on top of a “mountain” in back of the hollow. Old road of gravel and rock
brought in led to house.
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| James Monroe and Alameda Walton (my great grandparents), girl in middle is unknown |
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| Three views of the old home. The porch on the front was where they would stand and sing down into the valley. |
My granddaddy, Booker Walton – daddy’s dad, went to 3rd grade at Rocky Hollow School. I am trying to find some history on the school. I know that I’ve seen a picture of the school with kids in front of it. Hope I can get some info.
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| Wilborn Booker and Ada Emogene Walton, my grandparents. |
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| Booker played the banjo. My daddy looked like his dad. |
James Monroe was a farmer. Daddy thinks he was about 15 (actually he was close – 17) when Almeda died. The hearse got stuck in mud getting her out when going around a sharp curve on the road at the house. He said the hearse just slid off road and down the hill. Wooden caskets were used and some smell was involved. Ugh!
Let’s get started:
Wednesday, we spent time with Victor at the
genealogy library at the Church. It is fun to watch him work. I don’t even have
to pay attention to much of what he does, I work on my own stuff. I have
actually made a breakthrough with the Walton line, and I’m making some
connections with others who might be able to help. Victor just has to get his
recommend to be able to go to the Temple. After working for several hours, we went out
to lunch.
One of our new members, Dave Meltun, went AWOL , and
by Thursday, the missionaries were wanting to get in touch with him.
Originally, Dave first started studying the Church by calling Salt Lake and
talking with a missionary who works on Temple Square. The Elders here asked if
I would call the Salt Lake missionaries and see if they could get hold of
Dave. Later that afternoon Dave called
me and said the missionaries had told him I was looking for him. We are going
to be meeting with him on Friday with the Elders. He is a smart man, and
although he has joined the Church, he still has some questions. Once we start learning, more questions come
up. That is good! We love questions.
After we got home, I spent some time working on
math problems to prepare for Pathway that night. We don’t have many more weeks,
and I’m looking forward to it. It has been fun relearning the math that I’ve
gotten rusty doing. It brings back memories of being in the classroom and
working to explain, demonstrate, and encourage the students to take a chance
and do it on their own.
On Friday, we had a celebration of John’s
birthday and also Samantha’s (Ada’s oldest) birthday. How fun to know that all
of us are growing old together. Hahaha
We started off that morning going down town. We
decided that we would do a little exploring and ended up on somewhere near the
water. We could see the city of Milwaukee from the sore. The area was near the
Coast Guard facility, and it was an eclectic area made up of houses that
reminded us of Florida. At one point, we could almost smell the salty air.
There was a nice hiking and biking town. Below the walking area, there were
stairs down to the beach. It looked really nice – just cold. We will go back in
the summer when we can spend more time walking without freezing.
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| Remove the snow, and see Florida |
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| See Milwaukee in background. |
I have been working on Pat’s genealogy (scanning documents) to try to finish them before she and her husband return from Florida. I haven’t heard if they have sold their house here. Pat really wants to go to the warmer weather, and she doesn’t like the cold anymore. Unfortunately, cold is not the best selling point.
This must be the best of weeks. Brad had a birthday on Saturday. I’m wondering if his grey hair is going to be a talking point between he and Mallory.
We are enjoying our new Ward. There are a lot
of nice people there. It is built in a part of town where there is a lot of
money, and there are many members who have money at the Parkway Ward. We are
trying to get to know the people, but it isn’t easy with our old brains. After
Church, we had a dessert linger-longer. We got to speak with lots of people, and
it was fun. The Armstrongs are in the Ward, and it is nice to be able to
fellowship them there. Denise was sick and unable to come.
On Monday, we made arrangements to visit
Missionaries and inspect their apartment. Elders are really messy, and they are
supposed to keep it clean enough to feel the Spirit. We have to remember they
are 18 and 19 years old for the most part. We enjoy them so much, and we’ve
learned a lot working with them.
Tuesday came around, and we had Zone Training
from 10-1. That afternoon after the training, I would be involved in math
practice again. While I was in the meeting, I missed a phone call from Aunt
Shirley Dowell. I knew the minute I saw her name that she was going to tell me
that Aunt Peggy had died. It was really hard to hear that. On both sides of our
family now, we (my brothers and sisters) are the old generation. We do have an
Aunt Shirley on mom’s side and an Aunt Shirley on dad’s side. I think I can
speak for all of us in saying that none of us were very close to either of
them. I do talk with Aunt Shirley Dowell and hope to do more now. Aunt Shirley
Walton is in a nursing home. She didn’t want to go in, but her son, Morris, put
her in one. She has been so unhappy there. I really do need to write her.
So, here are at the end of another week. So
much happening. Lots going on, and we are loving our mission.
Our Scripture for March is from Doctrine and
Covenants 68:4 -
And
whatsoever they shall speak when moved upon by the Holy Ghost shall be
scripture,
shall
be the will of the Lord, shall be the mind of the Lord, shall be the word of
the Lord,
shall
be the voice of the Lord, and the power of God unto salvation.
Elder and Sister Lenhard
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